Director, Specialty Lines

Intact Financial Corporation; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 162,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Additional days off

Wellbeing program

Employee share plan

Pension plan

Job summary

Intact Financial Corporation is seeking a dynamic Director to lead the national Specialty Solutions team responsible for underwriting Commercial Group Programs. You will drive profitable growth, develop strategic plans, and build broker relationships to deliver exceptional service and technical excellence.

You will coach managers and specialists, set clear objectives, and align risk and pricing with corporate guidelines.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of relevant management experience in commercial or specialty insurance.
• Strong knowledge of specialty lines and Commercial Group Programs.
• Proven track record of profitable growth and underwriting performance.
• Strategic thinking with strong attention to detail and business judgment.
• Ability to lead, influence and motivate teams in a complex environment.
• Experience mentoring and developing employees at multiple levels.
• Willingness to travel as required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the profitability, growth, and strategic direction of the Commercial Group Programs portfolio.
• Lead, coach, and develop a national team of managers and specialists.
• Set clear objectives, accountabilities, and performance measures for portfolio management.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, operational effectiveness and underwriting quality.
• Develop policy direction and underwriting guidelines to support disciplined risk selection and pricing.
• Act as senior underwriting authority on risk selection and retention matters within policy.
• Build relationships with brokers and market partners to pursue growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with Intact Commercial Lines to align business and pursue new opportunities.
• Manage relationships between corporate and divisional Specialty Solutions teams for alignment.
• Deliver key operational initiatives and strategic projects including tech enhancements and product development.
• Conduct underwriting audits to assess soundness of practices and risk selection.
• Determine staffing requirements with regional management.
• Collaborate on technical, operational, and administrative matters with leadership.
• Provide updates to Vice President on portfolio performance and risks.
• Travel as required to support team leadership and priorities.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Underwriting

Communication

Mentoring

Travel flexibility

Job description

Our employees are at the heart of everything we do. Together, we help people, businesses, and society prosper in good times and be resilient in bad times. Our employee promise represents Intact’s commitment to you in exchange for living our Values, striving to do your best work, being open to change and investing in your career. In return, we promise to provide support, opportunities and performance-led financial rewards at a workplace where you can shape the future, win as a team and grow with us. Pay at Intact is about much more than just salary.

• Flexible work arrangements and a hybrid work model
• Possibility to purchase up to 5 extra days off per year
• Multiple benefits offered to support physical and mental wellbeing, including telemedicine, Wellness account and much more
• Share plan & other savings: up to 12% of salary or even more (ask how you could earn guaranteed income for life)
• Salary range (but not limited to): 161,600 - 197,500
• Annual bonus target, based on the base salary, with a potential payout of up to double the target (subject to personal and company performance): 20%
• As part of our commitment to Win As A Team, we share our success with employees through our annual bonus plan and Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) – with Intact matching 50% of your net shares.
• Our pension offerings provide flexibility and long-term security for our employees beyond their careers.
• We are one of the few companies offering the opportunity to receive guaranteed income for life via our defined benefit pension plan.

Salary for the candidate will be determined taking into consideration a number of factors including: experience, skills, qualifications, anticipated contribution to role, internal equity, etc. The salary range presented above is based on a 35-hour workweek and would represent a majority of different candidate profiles. However, we encourage candidates who may fall outside of this range to apply as well.

About the role

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Director to join our Specialty Solutions team. In this role, you will lead a national team of managers and specialists responsible for underwriting our Commercial Group Programs portfolio. Drawing on your strong experience in specialty lines and commercial insurance, you will drive profitable growth by developing and executing strategic plans tailored to the Canadian marketplace and aligned with our program appetite. You will also build trusted relationships with brokers and key market partners to ensure that Specialty Solutions delivers exceptional service, deep technical expertise, and strong business results.

What you’ll do here:

• Lead the profitability, growth, and strategic direction of the Commercial Group Programs portfolio
• Lead, coach, and develop a national team of managers and specialists, including performance management, succession planning, and talent development.
• Establish clear team objectives, accountabilities, and performance measures to support portfolio management, productivity, technical quality, and profitable growth.
• Identify opportunities to improve business processes, operational effectiveness, and underwriting quality.
• Develop and recommend policy direction and underwriting guidelines that support disciplined risk selection, pricing, and retention.
• Act as the team’s senior underwriting authority on risk selection, pricing, and retention matters within the corporate underwriting philosophy.
• Build and strengthen relationships with brokers and other key market partners to identify and pursue growth opportunities.
• Partner with Intact Commercial Lines counterparts to ensure proper alignment of business, identify improvement opportunities and new business opportunities.
• Manage relationships between corporate and divisional Specialty Solutions teams to support consistency, collaboration, and effective execution.
• Lead the delivery of key operational initiatives and strategic projects, including technology enhancements, product development, centres of excellence, corporate liaison, and operational implementation.
• Conduct underwriting audits to assess the soundness of underwriting practices and risk selection, and to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Determine staffing requirements in accordance with regional management and corporate guidelines.
• Collaborate with regional management, underwriting managers, corporate underwriting, and claims leadership on technical, operational, and administrative matters.
• Provide regular updates, reporting, and recommendations to the Vice President on portfolio performance, operational priorities, risks, and opportunities.
• Travel as required to support team leadership, broker relationships, and business priorities.

What you bring to the table:

• Minimum 5years of relevant management experience, ideally in commercial or specialty insurance.
• Strong knowledge of specialty lines and Commercial Group Programs insurance.
• Demonstrated experience in the commercial insurance marketplace.
• A proven track record of achieving profitable growth and managing underwriting performance.
• Strategic thinking combined with strong attention to detail and sound business judgment.
• The ability to lead, influence, and motivate teams while driving change in a complex environment.
• Proven track record setting clear objectives and monitoring the progress of multiple projects against deadlines.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience setting clear objectives, managing competing priorities, and delivering multiple projects on schedule.
• The ability to assess complex problems, make sound decisions, and take calculated risks in time-sensitive situations.
• Knowledge of competitive practices, market trends, and developments affecting commercial insurance results, with the ability to translate insights into business recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, develop, and train employees at multiple levels.
• A creative, solutions-oriented approach to business challenges.
• Strong follow-through, accountability, and execution skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel as required.
• No Canadian work experience required however must be eligible to work in Canada.
• For candidates located in Quebec, bilingualism is required considering the necessity to interact on a regular basis with English speaking colleagues across the country.
• #LI-Hybrid
• Ce poste jouera un rôle essentiel au sein de notre équipe. | This position will fill an essential role in our team.

We are an equal opportunity employer At Intact, our Value of respect is founded on seeing diversity as a strength. We strive to create an accessible workplace where employees feel valued, included and encouraged to share their unique perspectives. We encourage applications from individuals who are members of equity-deserving groups, including but not limited to women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, Black people, and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. As part of Intact’s commitment to reconciliation, we acknowledge that we work, meet and travel across the land currently called Canada, originally inhabited by First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. This history extends through many centuries and continues to evolve today. We have policies to ensure equal access and participation for people with disabilities, including providing workplace adjustments (accommodations). A copy of applicable policies is available on request. If we can provide a specific adjustment to make the recruitment process more accessible for you, please let us know when we reach out about a job opportunity. We’ll work with you to meet your needs.

Candidates must be eligible to work in Canada from the anticipated start date and throughout their employment and are solely responsible for maintaining their work eligibility.